Yoko Miwa, Mikayla Shirley to Release GOD ONLY KNOWS Single
The duo will perform at Dizzy's Club in New York City ahead of their debut album THE MIDNIGHT HOUR.
Jazz pianist Yoko Miwa and vocalist Mikayla Shirley will release their new single, 'God Only Knows,' a reimagined tribute to The Beach Boys, ahead of their debut album THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, available August 28, 2026 via Cupcakes & Muffins LLC.
Of the single, Yoko Miwa said, 'We wanted to strip away some of the playfulness and focus on the vulnerability inside the song, to lean into that contradiction rather than hide it. What unites these songs is not style but emotional depth, not whether it belongs to a particular tradition, but whether it contains something true.'
Last year, Miwa and Shirley began performing together during The Mad Monkfish's Midnight Sessions in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and those evenings became the foundation of their musical collaboration. Their intimate duo sets have quietly become one of the Boston jazz scene's hidden treasures. The duo's performances move between jazz standards, Broadway songs, Brazilian music, classic pop, and contemporary songwriting, with material united not by genre but by a shared belief in the power of a great song.
The album's title, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, reflects both the atmosphere and the spirit of those late-night performances. After listening back to the sessions, Miwa, Shirley, and co-producer Scott Goulding jokingly discussed calling the project Oops…All Ballads. The title never stuck, but the observation wasn't entirely wrong — many of the selections unfold at a reflective pace, though the performances uncover fresh emotional terrain within songs that continue to reveal new meaning over time rather than dwelling in nostalgia.
The album was recorded at Boston's Q Division Studios, whose acoustically balanced rooms captured the performances with clarity, placing the listener directly inside the dialogue between voice and piano while preserving the spontaneity and emotional honesty of the duo's live performances.
Miwa and Shirley will perform together at Dizzy's Club in New York City on Wednesday, September 2, with sets at 7:00PM and 9:00PM.
Tour Dates
Wednesday, September 2 // Yoko Miwa Trio with Special Guest Mikayla Shirley — Dizzy's Club NYC — 7:00PM & 9:00PM — Tickets available here
Friday, September 11 // Yoko Miwa Trio with Special Guest Mikayla Shirley — The Poli Club, Waterbury, CT — 7:00PM & 9:00PM — Tickets available here
Friday, October 2 // Yoko Miwa Trio with Special Guest Mikayla Shirley — Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA — 7:00PM — Tickets available here
About Yoko Miwa
Yoko Miwa is an internationally acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader whose powerful combination of virtuosity, lyricism, and swing has made her one of the most respected voices in contemporary jazz. Born in Kobe, Japan, Miwa began as a classical pianist before discovering jazz and eventually earning a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where she later joined the faculty and became one of the institution's most popular piano professors. Leading the acclaimed Yoko Miwa Trio, she has performed at major venues including New York's Blue Note Jazz Club, Birdland, and Lincoln Center, and has appeared with artists such as Arturo Sandoval, Esperanza Spalding, Sheila Jordan, and Kevin Mahogany. She was named Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2019 Boston Music Awards and is a Yamaha Piano Artist. She was also named Rising Star Pianist in the 2022, 2023 & 2024 Downbeat Critics Polls. Her recordings include In the Mist of Time (2000), Fadeless Flower (2002), Canopy of Stars (2004), The Day We Said Goodbye (2006 and 2026), Live at Scullers (2011), Act Naturally (2012), Pathways (2017), Keep Talkin' (2019), and Songs of Joy (2021), which reached No. 1 on the national jazz radio charts. Yoko, praised by the late Ahmad Jamal and admired for her ability to combine dazzling technique with emotional depth, continues to captivate audiences worldwide while mentoring the next generation of jazz musicians.
About Mikayla Shirley
Mikayla Shirley is a rising jazz vocalist, songwriter, and performer whose warm tone, expressive phrasing, and gift for storytelling have quickly made her a standout voice on the Boston jazz scene. A recent graduate from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Shirley has earned recognition for performances that blend the elegance of classic jazz singing with a fresh, contemporary sensibility. Critics have praised her ability to draw audiences into each song, noting a vocal style that reflects the influence of jazz greats while remaining distinctly her own. A frequent collaborator with acclaimed pianist Yoko Miwa, Shirley has appeared with the Yoko Miwa Trio at leading venues throughout New England and beyond, developing a musical partnership rooted in lyrical interpretation, swing, and emotional connection. Their performances together have become a highlight of Miwa's recent concert appearances, including engagements at Regattabar and other prominent jazz venues.
For more information on Yoko Miwa, visit www.yokomiwa.com.
For more information on Mikayla Shirley, visit www.mikaylashirley.com.
Photo Credit: Caroline Alden
Photo Credit: Caroline Alden
